The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 86
If there is any city in Hanzhou that is the richest, it is naturally Jianye. It has almost the most complete and largest industries in Qi. In addition, it is close to the Nanyang Islands, so it can face a broad sales market.As early as decades ago, Jianye surpassed Batavia and became the most important economic center, trade center and shipping center in the region. It created nearly [-]% of the country's industrial and agricultural output value in just one city. , it can be said that the city has accumulated countless wealth.

More than 20 years ago, there was a very straightforward saying in Qi State, "Young people should not go to Jianye, and old people should not go to Dongzhou."Because Jianye is so rich, young people are easily dazzled by the countless money, and then get lost in this bustling city.Dongzhou (now New Zealand) naturally attracts many people who are tired of the prosperity and hustle and bustle because of its beautiful scenery, beautiful environment, and suitable climate. Many old people who have worked hard in Hanzhou for decades once settled there. Dongzhou is generally used as a place of retirement, never to return.

However, in terms of which city is the most aristocratic in Hanzhou itself, it must be Chang'an.Not to mention the many members of the royal family and senior cabinet ministers who gathered here, most of the country's nobles with titles also settled in Chang'an City, even if their original roots were far away in Jianye in the north.

In addition to high-ranking officials and dignitaries, those princes and tribal leaders in the Nanyang region who were deprived of their territories, as well as officials from Qin, Annan, Siam, Beiming and other countries and regions who lost power will also bring countless wealth and settle down in Chang'an to enjoy wealth and wealth. A luxurious second half of life.

Of course, there are also many big businessmen, factory owners, and large plantation owners who have accumulated rich wealth. They also like to buy land and properties in Chang'an and build an elegant villa just to be closer to the center of the empire and to obtain timely policy and business information. .

For example, there is Bailu Plaza in the wealthy area of ​​Anping Street, Zhuque District, Chang'an. Dozens of luxurious houses are lined up on the hillside, overlooking the entire Bailu Park.In these other courtyards, there were gathered a large number of comprador merchants from the Qin State, as well as other dignitaries.

In Chongren Street, Longyuan District, Chang'an (now Charlton Town, Toowoomba City), there are many Nanyang tycoons, including large plantation owners, shipping giants, and many mining tycoons, with beautiful buildings one after another. The magnificent mansions are like royal palaces, showing their endless wealth.

Walking on the streets of Chang'an, you will see dozens of guild halls and theaters, large and small.Artistic performers or circuses from countries and regions such as Qin, Korea, Siam, India, Persia, and Europe performed exciting shows one after another for the rich and powerful in the city.

There are also more than 20 museums and art galleries in Chang'an City, which are filled with cultural relics "collected" by Qi people from all over the world, as well as various rare treasures.

Chang'an also has many excellent restaurants, hotels, universities, shopping malls, libraries, train stations, long-distance public carriage stations... Well, I won't list them all in detail. In short, the food, clothing, housing, transportation, food, drinks and entertainment are all world-class.

In just a few decades, Chang'an has developed from a remote pasture into a large city with a population of 32, which also reflects the rapid economic development of Qi State.

Apart from a few hundred light industrial enterprises, Chang'an basically does not have many industrial facilities and is considered a consumer city.It has developed so many cultural and entertainment things, most of which serve wealthy people across the country and even around the world, so that the rich and powerful can live in Chang'an and have something to eat, play, see and see. If you have something to buy, give them the best life enjoyment, so that they will not be lonely from material to soul.

Li Yanliang was riding in a luxurious carriage marked with the royal emblem. Although he seemed extremely calm on the surface, looking at the street scene passing along the way through the window on the right side, deep down, his heart was already ups and downs, and he was extremely excited.

Although, I have learned from my mother that he is the grandson of the late Princess Le'an and the nephew of His Majesty. He has part of the noble blood of the royal family and can be regarded as a member of the prominent royal family.But he never thought that one day he would be personally received by His Majesty.

Since Taizu, after decades of reproduction, there have been eight hundred, if not one thousand, people with royal status.There are so many princes, dragons and grandsons. Except for some close direct bloodlines, most of them will probably not get the slightest favor from His Majesty throughout their lives.

Just now in the Army General Staff Building, when two guards officers summoned him to see his Majesty Taichu Palace, all the officers present were shocked. In addition to looking at him with probing meaning, they looked at him more with envy and jealousy. .

What is the identity of this new Colonel Renyong (lieutenant)?
Didn't he just transfer from the Indian West Prefecture Garrison Army?

Why can I be personally received by His Majesty?

Could he be a descendant of some powerful family?

Or maybe a member of the royal family?

"Captain Li is so calm and steady, I really admire him."

After the carriage arrived at the Royal Square, several people got off the carriage and walked towards the Jiande Gate of Taichu Palace.Yue Xiangfeng, the captain of the Royal Guards who led the way, smiled at Li Yanliang, who had a solemn look on his face, and said softly: "I still remember that I saw Your Majesty for the first time in Taichu Palace last year, but I didn't dare to take a breath. Your Majesty When I asked the question, I couldn't even form a complete sentence. Thinking about it still makes me feel ashamed!"

"Sir, in fact... I am also very frightened at this moment, my heart is beating like crazy, and my legs and feet are not working properly."

"Haha..." Yue Xiangfeng laughed softly, patted Li Yanliang's shoulder, and said comfortingly: "Relax, your Majesty is kind and always has a kind attitude. Whatever your Majesty asks, Lieutenant Li only needs to answer honestly. Remember , don’t exaggerate or conceal anything. Your Majesty has a thorough understanding of all the major events in the world. Even the trivial matters in the market and among the people can be understood a little bit."

"Humble job notes."

"Captain Li, I would like to ask, are you related to General Li, the former deputy commander of the Navy's Home Fleet, or Uncle Qingping, the original founding father of the People's Republic of China?"

"No. Hsiao's father unfortunately died in the line of duty in Africa 20 years ago, and Hsien and his mother are the only ones left in the world."

"Oh." Yue Xiangfeng had a hesitant look on his face and couldn't help but take a deep look at Captain Renyong again. Then without saying another word, he led Li Yanliang towards Taichu Palace.

After entering Taichu Palace, Yue Xiangfeng handed Li Yanliang to a palace attendant, who took him to Canghai Palace to meet His Majesty.

Since the time of Taizu, the State of Qi has not followed the tradition of castrating eunuchs to manage palace affairs, as it has in the past dynasties, nor has it drafted maidens into the palace to serve as maids. Women were employed to recruit corresponding royal service personnel, covering cleaning, washing clothes, maintenance of palaces and gardens, and even daily meals.These people receive service remuneration from the royal family based on the size and complexity of their affairs.

In addition, the palace also has a number of attendant rooms with clear division of labor and policy training rooms in various fields to assist the emperor in handling daily affairs of the empire, convey important decisions of the cabinet and military, and provide professional advice to the emperor in making final decisions.

Just as Li Yanliang was arranged to wait outside the Canghai Palace, the special envoy from the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Celebi Muhammad, had just finished his audience with the emperor. Under the guidance of an attendant, he was coming out of the hall. I bumped into this young Qi officer.

Perhaps because he got a satisfactory answer from the emperor, the Ottoman envoy was in a very happy mood. He showed a bright smile to the Qi officer without hesitation, nodded slightly, and then strode out.

"Your Majesty, Lieutenant Renyong Li Yanliang, staff officer of the Equipment Planning Department of the Army General Staff Headquarters, requests an audience."

"Oh?...Let him come in." Upon hearing this, Emperor Taiping withdrew his eyes from the many documents on the desk, then stretched out his hands, relaxed his stiff body for a few times, and leaned gently against Rouran. On the throne.

The gate of Canghai Palace is composed of two cylindrical arches covered with reliefs. The entrance steps are paved with marble. The hall is decorated with many blue curtains. The walls of the hall are hung with works by many ancient famous painters and calligraphers. People can't help but stare and admire.

"Li Yanliang, do you understand calligraphy and painting?" Emperor Taiping looked curiously at the calligraphy and painting on both sides of the hall when he saw the young captain coming in, and smiled slightly.

"Your Majesty, I don't understand calligraphy and painting." Li Yanliang immediately bowed and responded.

"There is no need to be formal, this visit is not for political reasons." Emperor Taiping said, stood up and left the throne, and walked slowly to Li Yanliang, "In terms of family relationship, I am your cousin, and you are my nephew. We are a family. "I don't dare."

"How dare you talk about family ties?" Emperor Taiping reached out and patted Li Yanliang's shoulder gently, "When I was young, your grandmother, the late Princess Le'an, relied on Emperor Taizu's favor, but she didn't Stop beating me."

"..." Li Yanliang was stunned, how could he dare to accept such words.

"At that time, although the eldest princess of Le'an was my elder, she was one year younger than me. At that time, all of us royal children were studying together, playing together, and listening to Emperor Taizu talk about all kinds of weird and novel things. , it can be said that we spent the happiest time together. ... And now, we are growing old together and will eventually die together."

"Your Majesty, in his prime years, may live a long life...without borders!"

"Longevity without borders?" Emperor Taiping was startled after hearing this, and then smiled and shook his head, "How can there be such a thing as longevity in this world? Among the emperors of ancient and modern times, except for the hundred-year-old Emperor Wu of South Vietnam Zhao Tuo, there are few emperors who have lived longer than eighty years. . Emperor Taizu was wise and powerful. After abdicating the throne, he indulged in the mountains and rivers and paid great attention to health care, but his life was only eighty-four. How can I call him alone? "

"His Majesty……"

"Haha... Yanliang is still young, let alone life and death." Emperor Taiping said harmoniously: "I heard that you have lived with your mother in Daxing since you were a child, and you have been dependent on each other. I guess you have suffered a lot, right?"

"Your Majesty, my father died young and I relied on my mother to raise me. Over the years, I have not endured hardship, but I have been a drag on my mother."

"Well, as an orphan and a widower, and without royal care, your mother must have suffered a lot. When the eldest princess of Le'an passed away, she left her last words to me, hoping that I could take more care of you, mother and son."

"I dare not take care of your Majesty." Li Yanliang bowed again and responded.

"..." Emperor Taiping looked at Li Yanliang intently, and saw that except for the expression of gratitude and fear on his face, there was no trace of greed on his face, so he couldn't help but nodded slightly.

This kid is an honest person!

"Come with me for a walk and tell me about your experience in the army and what you have seen and heard in the past few years."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"... Shazhou is barren and is a desert. The summer temperature is high and the climate is harsh, making it difficult for immigrants to survive. Apart from simple economic activities such as grazing, pearl diving, and fishing, there is almost no value created. However, colonial officials are stationed here. and garrison troops, which wasted tens of thousands of national funds, but the cabinet refused to abandon it. Yanliang served there, do you think this suggestion is feasible? "

Shazhou was originally the Arab territory of Hasa of the Ottoman Empire (today's eastern Saudi Arabia and Qatar) and the coastal area of ​​​​Basra Province.Thirty years ago, the Ottomans failed to repay Qi's due debts as promised, so they "lost" the above-mentioned areas to Qi in the name of collateral.

In view of the harsh climate and environment of the Shazhou Governor-General, the Qi State has not yet migrated here on a large scale, nor has it established a strict colonial management system. It still maintains local rule by relying on the local tribal autonomy model, supplemented by a small number of colonial officials. order.In this huge area, only a Qi-Yin servant force of several hundred people was stationed, symbolically declaring Qi's sovereignty over the area.

These places were obtained from the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Emperor Taizu. Regardless of the opposition of the cabinet, he insisted on using this barren land as loan collateral.For many years, it has been criticized by domestic officials, who believe that this land is not valuable at all. It was purely Emperor Taizu who passed through the Gulf (today's Persian Gulf) in order to check and balance Europe, and provided countless real gold and silver aid to the Ottoman Empire.From time to time, some people propose to abandon this barren land and transfer the funds invested here to more "valuable" areas.

Our Qi State is racing to enclose the entire Indian Ocean Rim area, and it is much better than the land in Shazhou!
"Your Majesty, all the ministers in the cabinet and ministers are ministers of our Qi State. Their thoughts and concerns are also for the country and the people. I dare not say anything."

"You are prudent. By the way, you have personally experienced chaos in Persia. What are your thoughts on the ongoing Persian war?"

"Your Majesty, our Qi army has more than [-] troops. They are well-equipped and have high morale. Coupled with the cooperation of the local forces of the Safavid dynasty, there is no doubt that we can defeat the Afghan tribal rebels."

"Then how to force the Ottomans and Tsarist Russia to retreat?"

"Ottoman's invasion of Persia should be to take advantage of the situation and plunder some people and property. Because of the different religious sects, they should not annex its territory. They will retreat after the negotiation of our Qi State. And Tsarist Russia is afraid that it will take the opportunity to invade Armenia and Azerbaijan and other places are further plotting to plot the Caspian Sea. However, if our country, Qi, can unite with the Ottomans and jointly put pressure on them, Tsarist Russia will inevitably give in and withdraw from the Caucasus Mountains."

"Well, your analysis is roughly the same as the General Staff's deduction. Ha, you are quite thoughtful at such a young age."

"His Majesty……"

"Huh?...No need to worry. If you have anything to say, just say it."

"Your Majesty, the Indian garrison and the Karat Khanate must be cautious when they invade Afghanistan. It is best not to get involved deeply to avoid falling into a quagmire."

"Why?"

"Afghanistan has many tribes, strong folk customs, and has always been good at fighting. The terrain is mostly mountainous and Gobi, which is not conducive to our army's attack. The most effective method is to win over and exploit the conflicts between local tribes and use barbarians to control barbarians. If huge resources are invested, the army can attack Cutting down, even if all the land is occupied, will not only gain little in the end, but will only increase losses, and the gain will not be worth the loss.”

"Well, I will ask the General Staff to conduct a detailed deduction and assessment on this in the future."

"...Your Majesty, I wonder if our Qi State's immigration policy can be optimized and improved in order to increase the immigrants' desire to surrender...."

"...Your Majesty, many trading companies and factories are infringing on people's livelihood, so we should be careful...."

"...Your Majesty, the sons of the powerful do not respect the law, bully the weak with the strong, and corrupt morals and folk customs. I believe that they should be punished severely and serve as a warning to others...."

"...Your Majesty, there is a lot of industrial pollution in the empire. Please control it...."

(End of this chapter)